Air cleaner for internal-combustion engines



Sept. 16, 1952 H. GOLDBERG ETAL AIR CLEANER FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 18, 1949 In wen 0715 JYa rry fioidZery" Jfz'lfordfl fiarrawa 4? MA #21351. I lfi orrzeys.

H GOLDBERG EIAL I 2,610,701

AIR CLEANER FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 jflvenzars Jfargy' fialdery Jfz'lfar flfiurrmas. y M

' .lizorneys Sept. 16, 1952 Flled Nov 18, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 jnvenzors jzarry 'olderg Jfz'Zfard fl 33/770105 J/zarneys.

Sept. 16, 1952 H GOLDBERG ETAL AIR CLEANER FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES Flled Nov 18, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 J71 yen i076 jfarry Goldb erg Wilford llfiurrows .izzazvze ys I H GOLDBERG ET AL AIR CLEANER FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Nov. 18, 1949 Sept. 16, 1952 Patented Sept. 16, 1952 AIR CLEANER FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES Harry Goldberg and Milford D. Burrows, Chicago,

111., assignors to Pioneer Gen-E-Motor Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application November 18, 1949, Serial No. 128,196

10 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in internal combustion engines and has for one purpose to provide a light, compact,'eflicient engine unit.

Another purpose is to provide improvedmeans for supplying clean air to the carburetor of an engine unit.

Another purpose is to provide an improved air cleaning means.

I Other purposes will appear from time to time in the course of the specification and claims.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings,

wherein: I

Figure 1 is a front elevation with parts broken away, and with some concealed parts indicated in dotted line;

Figure 2 is a side elevation;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 33 of Figure l, on an enlarged scale;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 44 of Figure 3; I

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the air cleaner element itself;

Figure 6 is a front elevation of the air cleaner;

Figure 7 is a rearelevation of the air cleaner; and

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic illustration of the movement of the air to be cleaned and the particles to be separated out.

Like parts are indicated by like symbols throughout the specification and drawings.

Referring to the drawings, I generally indicates any suitable support or surface on which the engine structure as a whole may be positioned.

2 is a hollow base structure adapted to serve as an oil reservoir. It is provided with flanges or lugs 3 through which may pass securing bolts 4. 5 is any suitable drain plug. 1 indicates the upper edge of the surface of the base'which surrounds any suitable aperture, not shown, for communication with the interior of the engine block. The engine block isgenerally indicated at 8, and has a bottomwallportion 9, abutting against the corresponding portion lot the base '2. The details of the base and engine block do notof themselves form part of the present invention. It will be understood, however, that the engine block includes and surrounds an appropriate engine cylinder in which any suitable piston, not

.herein shown, may move, and wherein any suitable crank shaft [0 is rotatably positioned and is driven by said piston. II is any suitable starting pulley, the details of which do not form part of the present invention.

I2 is any suitable fly 2 wheel having a fan component or a series of blades l3. The upper portion of the engine-block is provided about its sides with a plurality of cooling fins l5. Other cooling fins l6, shown i end view in FigureZ, may extend upwardly from the top of the engine block. 22 is any suitable exhaust aperture from which mayextend any suitable exhaust passage, not herein shown. ,23 is any suitable inlet for the mixture. .24 generally indicates a unitary side plate with an outwardly extending tubular portion 25 having an upper cut away or air inlet portion 26 and an end lug 21 screw threaded to receive the. thread 29 of a securing element or screw 28 having an external head 30. 3| is an air inlet passage extending to and preferably integral with a carburetor structure 32. Entry of air through the inlet 26 and along the'member or passage 3| may be controlled by any suitable choke valve such as the butterfly valve. 33 controlled by'an'exterior lever 34. 35 is any suitable liquid fuel inlet or passage extending to any suitable fuel tank 36, the details of which do not form part of the present invention. 31 is a mixture passage along which the c-arburated mixture flows to the inlet 23 of the engine block. The details of the carburetor do not of themselves form part of the present invention. I

Surrounding the fly wheel 12 and the fan I3 is a shroud generally indicated as at 40. It is provided with a series of arcuate air inlets 4|, generally concentric with the axis of the shaft Ill. The shroud includes a surrounding or side wall 42, extending to the engine housing to which it may be secured by any suitable securing screws 43. The direction of rotation of the fly wheel is indicated by the arrow in Figure 1. It. will be noted that a substantial part of the side wall 42 of the shroud conforms roughly to the periphery of the fly wheel l2. This'arc of conformity extends roughly from the point A of Figure, 1 counter-clockwise to the point, B. From that point the wall 42 divergesoutwardly from the periphery of the fly wheel. The upper portion of the shroud includes a top wall portion 44 curved or inclined toward the top of the engine block and terminates at or slightly above the level of the upper edges of the top cooling fins IS. The shroud is so formed asto direct air horizontally along andbetweenthe fins I6 and along and between the fins I5. .The upper portion of the shroud is provided with a top plate 41 through which extends, a shorting button 48 which may be moved into contact with any suitable spark plug located With n the shroud.

It will be observed that the partition plate 24 carries at one side the carburetor structure 32 and at the other an air cleaner structure entirely housed Within and included within the normal contour of the shroud 46. The plate 24 is provided with a circumferential shoulder or outwardly extending flange 24a on the air cleaner side, and has a shoulder or integral sleeve 24b outwardly extending from the carburetor side. As shown in Figure 3, the carburetor is so positioned that its air intake element 3| extends within the shoulder 24b and is gasketed in any suitable fashion, as by the gasket 240.

The air cleaner assembly is removably positioned within the shroud 40. The shroud is provided with an aperture 50 partially surrounded by an inwardly extending flange 5| opposite to and of the same shape as the circumferentially extending flange 24a.

The air cleaner assembly includes an outer air-pervious housing generally indicated at 52 and being shown in the form of a sheet metal tube having a plurality of air inlets 53 arranged in a localized group which extends substantially from end to end of the tube 52 but which are limited to a localized arc of its wall arranged at the top at the left of the tube, referring to the position of the parts as shown in Fig. 4. The tube 52 is secured to a front plate 54 which conforms generally to the front surface of the shroud 40. The outer end of the cylinder or housing 52 may be secured to the piece 54 by the provision of ears 55 which extend through suitable apertures in the piece 54. Sleeve 52 may be formed of a single sheet, the opposite edges of which may be suitably secured together. An inner tube 56 is eccentrically mounted, with the edges of the inner tube 56 abutting at the point of engagement or overlap of the edges of the tube or outer housing 52. In fact, the inner tube may be provided with offset locking ears 5'! which pass about the overlapped edges of the tube 52. The inner tube is also provided with ears 58 which pass through appropriate slots or apertures in the plate 54 and are bent over into locked position.

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the inner tube 56 is also provided with spaced apertures 59 located generally opposite the apertures 53 of the outer tube 52. The space between the apertured zones of the two tubes may receive any suitable material such as a fibrous filtering medium generally indicated at 60. A suitable material such as metallic foil may be supplied or any suitable filtering material. The forward plate 54 is apertured as at 6| to receive the securing bolt 28 with the screw-threaded portion 29 and its head 30, as shown in Fig. 3.

As will be clear from Fig. 3, the cleaning unit proper, when held in position by the securing screw 28, is positioned with the inner tube 56 surrounding the tubular extension 25 of the plate 24. The ends of the members 52 and 56 abut generally or closely approach the plate 24 and, therefore, the only effective air path from the interior of the shroud to the passage 3| is through the apertures 53 and 59 and thus into the passage 25, 3|.

It will be realized that whereas we have described and claimed a practical and operative device, nevertheless many changes may be made in size, shape, number and disposition of the parts without departing from the spirit of our invention. We wish our description and drawings to be taken as in a broad sense illustrative or diagrammatic rather than as limiting us to the specific showing herein.

The use and operation of our invention are as follows:

The invention is employed in an internal combustion motor of the types shown in Figs. 1 and 2, which includes a fly wheel having a fan component I 3. This fly wheel moves in the general direction of the arrow of Fig. 1, with a clockwise movement, referring to the position of the parts in that figure. The air is drawn inwardly through the shroud apertures 4| and, as it is centrifugally delivered, it flows outwardly about the enlarged side of the housing or shroud scroll.

With reference, for example, to Figure 8, it will be observed that, with the fly wheel vanes l3 rotating clockwise, the air will be delivered, together with the particles of foreign material, generally along the dotted lines, and will prevailingly pass between the converging space formed between the shroud wall 42 and the cleaning wall 52. At this point there tends to be a venturi effect, or a splitting up of movement which tends to convey the larger particles rapidly past the cleaner member 52. The larger and heavier the particle, the greater the tendency for it to be carried well beyond the cleaner 52 and toward the outlets H10, through which much of the delivered air passes. The air which enters the apertures 53 has to make a sharp turn, a sharp turn which the accelerated particles do not readily make. The result is that there is a substantially centrifugal cleansing of the air which actually flows into the apertures 53. A substantial proportion of the finer particles are filtered out by the mass 80, which may, if desired, be periodically soaked with oil or a suitable liquid. In any event, a substantial proportion of the foreign material will remain in the mass 60, and the air which flows through the apertures 59, and is thus able to enter the carburetor passage 3|, is substantially free of impurities.

We claim:

1. In combination, a rotary air impeller, a housing enclosing it, having end walls, one on either side thereof and between them a generally spiral wall outwardly diverging from the periphery of the impeller in the general direction of the flow of air discharged thereby, an air cleaner housing located in the angular space between the spiral wall and the impeller and extending across that space between the two parallel walls, and defining with the spiral wall a passage having converging walls on the air receiving side of the passage so formed, and having diverging walls on the trailing side of the passage so formed, the air cleaner housing having a foraminous air inlet portion on the trailing side thereof, in relation to the direction of delivery of air about the cleaner, said housing having also a closed portion extending generally throughout the side of the housing opposed to the flow of the air delivered against it by the impeller, and an air discharge passage leading from the interior of the cleaner out through one of the parallel side walls.

2. The structure of claim 1 characterized by and including a tubular air cleaner removably insertable through the wall opposite to the one through which the air discharge passage returns.

3. The structure of claim 1 characterized by and including an air cleaner removably insertable through the wall opposite to the one through which the air discharge passage returns, said impeller, inner and outer tubular members, the

inner of said members contacting and being secured to the outer along a line lying in the zone of direct air impingement of the air stream from the impeller, said outer member having a plurality of air intake apertures on its lee side in relation to said path of air delivery, said outer member having also a closed portion extending generally throughout the side of the outer member opposed to the flow of air delivered against it by the impeller, the inner member having a plurality of air inlet apertures, the cleaner being closed at one end, the inner member being open at the other end for communication with an air discharge opening.

5. In combination, a rotary air impeller, a shroud enclosing it, said shroud having end walls and a side wall having a generally spiral part outwardly diverging from the periphery of the impeller in the general direction of the fiow of air discharged thereby, an air cleaner housing located in the angular space between the spiral wall portion and the impeller and extending between the end walls of the shroud, said housing having a curved wall portion defining, with the converging shroud wall, a convergently restricted space through which air, delivered by the impeller, passes, the wall of said housing having therein perforations positioned on the lee side of the housing, positioned in a zone extending substantially beyond the line of closest approach of the housing wall to the converging shroud wall, said outer member having also a closed portion extending generally throughout the side of the outer member opposed to the fiow of air delivered against it by the impeller the interior of said housing being adapted for communication with a carburetor structure located beyond an end wall of the shroud, and air filter means in said housing.

6. The structure of claim characterized by and including an inner wall positioned within the air cleaner housing, defining a space in communication with an aperture through one of the shroud end walls, the space between the housing and the inner wall having therein a filtering medium, the inner wall being apertured to permit the passage of air therethrough from the space within the housing.

7. The structure of claim 5 characterized by and including a shroud having a generally cylindrical outer wall and a generally cylindrical inner wall, eccentrically positioned in relation to the outer wall, the space between the outer wall and the inner wall having therein a filtering 6 medium, the inner wall being apertured to permit the passage of air therethrough from the space within the housing. the inner wall defining a space in communication with an aperture through one of the shroud end walls.

8. In combination, a rotary air impeller, a housing enclosing it and having a curved wall positioned in the path of delivery of air by the impeller, and an air receiving and cleaning element located between the impeller and the inner surface of said curved wall and defining, with the curved wall, a passage having walls which converge on the air receiving side of the passage so formed and which diverge on the trailing side of the passage so formed, said air cleaning element having air inlet passages on the trailing side thereof, in relation to the direction of delivery of air about the cleaner, said air cleaning element having also a closed wall portion extending generally throughout the side of the element opposed to the flow of air delivered against it by the impeller, and an air discharge passage leading from the interior of the cleaning unit outwardly away from said housing.

9. The structure of claim 8 characterized in that the air receiving and cleaning element includes an outside tubular element apertured to permit the entry of air, and an inside tubular element, spaced therefrom, and also apertured to permit the admission of air, said last mentioned tubular element having a discharge opening adapted to deliver air outwardly of the housing.

' 10. The structure of claim 8 characterized in that the air receiving and cleaning element includes an outside tubular element apertured to permit the entry of air, an inside tubular element. spaced therefrom, and also apertured to permit the admission of air, said last mentioned tubular element having a discharge opening adapted to deliver air outwardly of the housing, and filtering material positioned in the space between the tubular elements.

HARRY GOLDBERG.

MILFORD D. BURROWS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file 0! this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

